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Cetacean Survey Underway at Palmyra Atoll

October 20, 2011

On October 20, 2011, the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette embarked on a study to learn more about whales and
other cetaceans at Palmyra Atoll. The Palmyra Cetacean and Ecosystem Survey 2011 cruise will survey
waters within the 200-mile U.S. EEZ surrounding the atoll. The overall objective of the cruise is to estimate the
local abundance of dolphins and whales and understand their distribution in the area. In addition, scientists on
the Sette will collect biological and oceanographic data to better characterize the environment and
ecology of the cetaceans. At the end of the 30-day expedition, the Sette will return to her home port at
Ford Island in Pearl Harbor.

The abundance, distribution and stock structure of several cetacean species, like these melon-headed whales,
will be studied at Palmyra Atoll.

The scientific field party includes NOAA researchers from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC),
Southwest Fisheries Science Center, and Pacific Islands Regional Office and researchers from NOAA contractors and
the University of Hawaii Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR). Under the leadership of Marie
Hill, a PIFSC-affiliated JIMAR scientist, the team will conduct a visual line-transect cetacean survey around
Palmyra Atoll. As the ship moves along each survey transect, the scientific field party will use high-powered
binoculars to sight, identify and count cetaceans. Data on cetacean distribution, school size, and school
composition will be collected to determine abundance. When conditions permit, scientists on the Sette or
deployed in small boats will collect cetacean skin samples for biopsy; biopsy results will provide a database for
investigations of cetacean stock structure and phylogenetic relationships. Photographs of cetaceans will be taken
to document the geographic variation in dolphin morphology and pigment patterns and distribution of individual
large whales.

There will be a focused effort to conduct photo-identification and biopsy sampling by small boat around Palmyra
Atoll and neighboring Kingman Reef. Species such as melon-headed whales (see accompanying photos), bottlenose
dolphins, spinner dolphins, killer whales, and beaked whales are known to occur at Palmyra Atoll. Some species are
found there year-round while others are seen only seasonally or occasionally. Less is known about cetaceans at
Kingman Reef. In order to investigate this further, the field party will deploy a HARP (High-frequency Acoustic
Recording Package) on the seafloor. This instrument will remain there for a year and record all sounds including
cetacean vocalizations. From these recordings, researchers will be able to assess the diurnal and seasonal
occurrences of cetacean species at Kingman Reef.

Throughout the cruise, oceanographic data will be collected to characterize cetacean habitat and its variation over
time. And while most survey staff will be focused on sighting cetaceans, a pair of observers on the Sette
will be assigned to collect visual information on seabirds in the area.